We’re knee–deep in snow, with a top coat of ice, here in the New Jersey area. It’s been a bear of a winter, but our friend Boots hardly notices as he cuddles up in one of the lobby arm chairs, where he can keep an eye on things.
Medically, January brought a cardiac ultrasound for Boots, which revealed that his heart is actually looking a bit better. The ultrasonographer recommended that we add aspirin to Boots’ regimen, to decrease the likelihood of his throwing a blood clot (like Sylvia, one of our newest cats).
Also this month, Boots had a brief upper respiratory infection, accompanied by some vomiting, but he’s now fully over this. Our vet team also checked Boots’ blood pressure this month, and found it to be well within normal limits.
I tried hard today, but Boots was not interested in any cuddle time with me. He had to keep an eye out for those new cats in the “neighborhood.” With so many happy adoptions around the holidays, there are three new felines in the lobby for our handsome tuxedo cat to adjust to: baby Linda, little Molly, and fluffy Gingko. Cats are not famous for coping with change (I’ll bet you’ve noticed that on occasion?), and Boots is on edge with all these “new friends” around.
We all earnestly hope that Boots will be on his best behavior…though we’re not counting on it. Even when he appeared to be asleep, Boots would periodically open his green eyes to check out which neighbor I was petting. He was especially wary of newcomer Gingko, an adorable, personable fellow with lots of long brown and grey hair. Ginko reminded me of my old cat Munchkin, so we buddied up immediately. (I’m such a pushover for long-haired mutt-cats!) It was easy to see that Boots had already pegged him as a rival, but Gingko seemed unfazed.
Stay tuned to see if Boots causes any more dustups, or if he learns to live in peace with his new lobbymates. We do thank you for helping to sustain such a warm and loving home for all of these cats who would have no where else to go, but for people like you.
Stay warm this month!